In a major move by the University Grants Commission (UGC), the previous mandate for compulsory PhD requirement for teaching in central universities has been removed. “The University Grants Commission has decided to do away with the mandatory PhD requirement to teach in many Central Universities” UGC’s Chairperson told The Times of India. It was informed that this was in accordance with a major move to rope in professionals and industry experts into teaching positions.
Reportedly, special positions like ‘Professor of Practice’ and ‘Associate Professor of Practice’ are being created, positions that may be temporary or permanent depending on the requirement of institutions.
“There are many experts who want to teach.There could be someone who has implemented large projects and has a lot of on-the-ground experience, or there could be a great dancer or a musician, but we can’t appoint them going by the present rules,” M Jagadesh Kumar, Chairperson of UGC said.
“Therefore, it was decided that new special positions will be created,” he added.
He further added, “There would be no need for a PhD, the experts will just need to have demonstrated experience in a given domain.”
The reports have indicated that even experts who have crossed the age of 60 will be given an avenue to join as a part-time or full-time faculty till the age of 65. On March 10th, in a meeting of all the Vice Chancellors of central universities, it was decided that a committee will be set up to work and amend the regulations in teachers’ appointments.
UGC has also planned a centralized portal to keep track of, and ensure the appointments of teachers without delaying the process. According to the latest December 2021 data of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, there are over 10,000 teaching positions lying vacant in centrally funded institutions.
